1 Samuel

1 Samuel
Bible History 2
General Descriptions:
1. It is the Head of the three double book of the OT. The three
“double book” is considered one book in Hebrew manuscript.
• I and II Samuel
• I and II Kings
• I and II Chronicles
2. The three “double book” is divided into three distinct books in
the Septuagint version (3rd century BC). They are called the First,
Second, Third and Fourth books of the kingdom:
• I and II Samuel
• I and II Kings
3. In Latin Vulgate (4th century AD)
They are called the first, Second, Third and Fourth books of the kings
• I and II Samuel
• I and II Kings
4. In Authorized version, I Samuel is the “first book of the kings”.
5. It runs from the birth of Samuel (the last of the Judges7:6,15) to
the death of Saul (the first of the kings). It covers 115 years
(compared with II Samuel –it covers the 40 year reign of King David.
6. It records the rise and fall of Israel’s monarchy.
7. It records the biography of the three colorful personalities and
remarkable men in Israel’s history.
• Samuel –chapter 1-7 –the last of the judges
• Saul –chapter 8-15 –the first of the kings
• David –chapter 16-31 –the greatest of the kings (Acts 13:22)
8. It is the book of transition from theocracy to monarchy (when Israel
demanded for a visible human king).
• Monarchy is a government/state ruled by one person (queen or king)
• Two kinds of Monarchy:
o Constitutional Monarchy –the ruler has limitation (UK)
o Absolute Monarchy –the ruler has no limitation
9. It is the institution of the Prophetic office –(Num. 11:25;
Judges 6:8; Deut. 18:18). Before Samuel there was no
organized/institutionalized prophetic office or school of the
prophet.
10. It is Samuel who founded the school of prophets, the
institution of education for the Nation of Israel.
• Samuel originated the prophetic order.
• He was really the first of the prophets. (Acts 3:24; 13:30;
Heb. 11:32)
The Outline of the Book:
The First Book of Samuel
(Transition from Theocracy to Monarchy)
I. Samuel: Last of the Judges –chapter 1-7
A. His birth and youth -1-2
B. His call and office -3
C. His times and acts -4-7
-Summary -7:15-17
II. Saul: First of the kings –chapter 8-15
A. His appointment as king -8-10
B. His promising beginning -11-12
C. His later folly and sin -13-15
-Rejection -15:23-35
III. David: The anointed successor –chapter 16-31
A. His anointing by Samuel -16:1-13
B. His service before Saul -16:14-20
C. His years as fugitive -21-30
-Death of Saul -31
Transition is a change-over of leadership.
1. Transition from judges to Kings
2. It involves three-fold transition
• First transition (from Eli to Samuel)
• Second transition (from Samuel to Saul)
• Third transition (from Saul to David)
The first transition
1. The birth of Samuel
2. The borrowed son
3. The training of Samuel
4. The unbelieving sons of Eli
5. The “echabod”
6. The tragic death of Eli
The second transition (8)
1. The corrupt sons of Samuel (8:1-3)
2. The considerate decision of the elders (8:4-5)
• The Request: the elders’ deliberate plan. Reasons for the
request:
o Samuel is Old
o Samuel’s sons did not walk in his ways -8:5, that is the outer
motive
o Conformity with other nations, that is the inner motive
• The Response:
o Samuel was displeased -8:6
o God said: “hearkened unto them” -8:7
o The manner of the king that would reign over them (8:11-17)
• The Result: the absolute theocracy ceased, that is the deeper
meaning of it. (8:7). Now, Israel is under Monarchy.
“Success in the ministry does not compensate the failure in the

family.”
II. Saul: the first of the kings-chapter 8-15
1. His early promising beginning
• Striking physical superiority, that is an initial
advantage
o His health
o His height
o His handsomeness
• His highly commendable qualities of dispositions(guts)
o Modesty –humble 9:21-22
o Discreteness –quiet 10:27
o Generous spirit -11:13
o Considerate -9:5
o Courage -11:6, 11
o Capacity of strong love -17:21
o Energetic antagonism -28:3-6
• His equipment by God -10:6, 9-10, 26
o God gave him another heart –courage and trust –v.9
o God gave him another man –leadership –v.6
o God filled him with the Spirit –inner strength –v.10
o God gave him a band of men –touched by God –v.26
o God gave him a trusted counselor –Samuel
• His failure and later decline
o Irreverent presumptions –he intruded into the priestly
office -15:22
o Rush willfulness –Jonathan was cursed -14:24; 27; 45;
30-32
o Disobedience and deceit -16:14
• His final failure is characterized as follows:
o Self-frustration
o Self-will
o Self-sensitiveness
o Self-assertiveness
o Self-destruction
“Obedience is better than sacrifice.”
1. The anointing of David –chapter 16
• Man’s criteria in choosing a leader compared with God’s own ways.
(16:1-13).
• Reject what God rejects. Those who are rejected by God are acceptable
to man. (16:6-13)
• See as God sees (I Chro. 28:9; Heb. 4:12)
• Let us God do the rest. God used the musical skill of David to bring him
to the king’s presence
• David as King Saul’s musician. (16:14-23)
• Consider the nature and work of the Holy Spirit
2. Facing the Giant (Goliath) –chapter 17•
• Opportunities. Private victories make possible public victories –
v.34-37
• Obstacles. Whenever you step in faith other people will often
hinder in your way.
o His brother ridiculed him –v.28
o Saul himself wanted David to do according to the king’s armor –v.
33
“David is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of David. He
was born in Bethlehem and misunderstood by his brothers; he
was an obedient son and a conquering hero. The name David
means “beloved” and Jesus is the Father’s “beloved Son” (Matt.
3:17). David was anointed king long before he took the throne
and ruled, and our Lord is King of Kings even though He is not
yet reigning on this earth. Like David, our Lord had to
experience rejection and exile before reigning.”-Warren W.
Wiersbe
3. Friendship between Jonathan and David –chapter 18
• The spear is the symbol of authority and power –Saul
• The harp, stave and a shepherd’s sling -David
• The paranoid Saul.
o He was envious of David.
o He was suspicious and afraid
o He was angry and
o Finally, hateful that Saul wanted to kill David but the latter did not consider
the former as enemy.
“God used those difficult experiences of conflict to help make David a great man
4. The constant danger begun –chapter 19
• He was in constant danger but God delivered him –Psa.18:19
• His integrity before God was his strongest weapon during those
years of persecutions
• His best friend Jonathan helped him know the plan of Saul
• His trusted counselor Samuel stood by him until his death.
5. The covenant between Jonathan and David made it
possible for Mephibosheth –chapter 20
6. The fugitive years –chapter 21
• Departure. David lived as an exile for about 10 years
• Deception. He lied to Ahimelech but not “Doeg”
• Prov. 12:22; Eph. 4:15 –“if our telling the truth
endangers others, silence is our best response.”
7. The murder of God’s minister –chapter 22. According to A. W. Tozer:
“Don’t follow any leader until you see the mark of the oil on his forehead.”
• Saul’s leadership approach
o He tried to bribe them –v.7
o He played on their sympathy –v.8
o He depended on spies, like Doeg.
o He was not afraid to murder the priest just to know the people that he
is in charge. (Saul was unwilling to kill the wicked Amalekite’s king, Agag but
easily murdered priest and slaughtered his descendants, except Abishai.
8. Respect God’s Anointed –chapter 24 and 26
o Twice David had the opportunity to kill Saul.
o Abishai was a brave man but brave men are not always wise.
o He said: “you missed your first opportunity, so don’t miss this one.”
o David’s speech was designed to make Saul examine his heart.
o Saul chasing David perhaps influenced by his officers for twice he was sinned (I Sam. 15:24, 30)
o He was correct in saying: “he was fool”.
o He was fool in the way he treated Jonathan, David, Samuel, his army, his nation and his God.
o “He lived like a fool, and died like a fool” (Prov. 26:11-12)
• Conscience.
o David’s heart was troubled after cutting the side of Saul’s robe
• Cowardice. Saul’s superficial tear and temporary conviction. It was Saul’s sin not David’s revenge that
destroyed his family.
9. Living on Several levels –chapter 25
• We can return evil for good –Nabal (“fool”) to David’s men
• We can return evil for evil –David planned a revenge in the
“heat of his anger”
• We can overcome evil for good –Abigail was used by God
to stop David. She told him that he would suffer when he
remembered the incident in the future –v.30-31 (Prov. 20:22;
24:29)
Introduction:
The books of 1 and 2 Samuel continue the history of Israel from
the point where Judges leaves it. The last verse of Judges sums
up the spiritual life of Israel at that time: ‘In those days there
was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own
eyes’ (Judges 21:25). That is, no man was the head of the
nation, no voice commanded the obedience of the people, no
prince served as commander in chief of all the tribes at one
time in a nationwide program to subdue the enemies, and no
one monarch unified the people under the banner of their
sovereign Lord God.
Title:
The Jews probably gave the name of Samuel to these
books for several reasons:
• he was the key character;
• he was the ‘king-maker’, anointing the two other
main characters, Saul and David, to be king;
• the Jews regarded him as a national leader, second
only to Moses.
Author and Date:
I Samuel 10:25; 1 Chron 29:29
There is some difficulty in deciding who wrote the books
of Samuel. The traditional view is that Samuel wrote
chapters 1-24 and the rest was written by Nathan and
Gad, probably in the period 1025 to 900 BC. *Joint
authorship of the book would in no way take away from
the unity or inspiration of the books. Just as with the
other books of Scripture, no matter who the human
writers were, they were moved supernaturally by the
Holy Spirit to do their work.
Content & Structure:
The events recorded in 1 Samuel cover a period of about one
hundred and fifteen years from the childhood of Samuel
through the troubled times of Saul to the beginning of the reign
of the king whom God chose, David. The history of this period
has the added appeal of being told through biography. In the
personal lives of these three men this book gives an exceedingly
graphic picture of the times. Samuel was the last of the judges;
Saul was the first of the kings. The record finishes at the time
when David is ready permanently to establish the monarchy
and God is ready permanently to establish David’s throne
(Psalm 89).
Content & Structure:
Samuel
The significant role of Samuel in the history of Israel is often
overlooked. Yet the Jews regard him as a national leader
second only to Moses (see Ps 99:6 and Jer 15:1). Samuel was
born at a time when:
• spiritually Israel was still in a downward spiral (Judg 2:19);
• the judges had failed and the priesthood (Eli and his sons)
had failed;
• Israel was weak and vulnerable before her enemies (1
Samuel 4:1-11);
• the voice of God was rarely heard in the land (3:1).
Samuel
Samuel’s father was Elkanah the Levite. He was from the tribal area of
Ephraim and was therefore called an Ephraimite even though he was
still of the priestly tribe of Levi. Elkanah had two wives, which may
suggest the low moral condition in Israel at that time. Hannah, one of
Elkanah’s wives was childless and after many years of suffering, she
humbled herself before the Lord and prayed earnestly for a child
(1:7,10,15). God honoured her and gave her a son whom she named
Samuel (1:27), meaning ‘heard of God’, ‘the name of God’, or ‘his name
is mighty’. She fulfilled the vow she had made and gave Samuel to the
Lord for unique service in the Tabernacle and to live the life of a
Nazarite (1:11,28).
Hannah
Hannah, like Ruth, stands out in an age of decline. In Scripture, Hannah is
the first:
• example of silent prayer;
• hymn singer (2:1-10) – her hymn was a model for Mary (Lk 1:46-55);
• to show an outpouring of individual as distinct from national devotion;
• to indicate the coming greatness of the anointed king either in a divine
or human sense;
• to mention the Messiah (2:10 - ‘His anointed’ is literally ‘His Messiah’).
‘Give me a generation of Christian mothers, and I will undertake to change
the face of society in twelve months.’ - Lord Shaftesbury
Samuel’s Ministry:
Samuel was the key man in holding Israel
together during the final, discouraging
days of the theocracy. He was one of very
few in history who were called and
empowered by God to see one age out,
and another in. Consequently his ministry
had several facets:
1. Samuel was a reformer and revivalist. - I Samuel 7
Chapters 4-7 tell of Israel’s defeat by the Philistines who captured the
Ark of the Covenant. The Ark brought disaster for the Philistines who
sent it back to Kirjath-jearim where it remained for twenty years. Then,
under the influence of Samuel, Israel repented, and a great national
revival followed. Samuel gathered all Israel to Mizpah for prayer,
repentance and fasting.
As judge he travelled a circuit about once a year, overseeing and
administering the affairs of the people (7:15-17). His tremendous
influence in the nation is shown by the attitude of the people when
they approached him (see 16:4) and the fact that they came to him
when choosing a king.
Think Spot:
Note that revival was brought about by:
• A praying mother (chapter 1);
• A chastened people (chapter 2);
• A faithful prophet (chapter 3).
We need a praying band of Christians, a people
brought to a sense of their need, and a consecrated
preacher to bring about revival.
2. Samuel was a man of prayer.
Samuel’s life was one of prayer. He was born,
named, nurtured, housed and trained in prayer. He
considered intercession a part of his privilege and
duty (1 Samuel 12:23). At critical points in the
history of Israel he was on his knees (see 7:5,8,9;
12:18,19,23; 15:11,35). Centuries after his death,
Samuel was still known as a man of prayer (see Ps
99:6, Jer 15:1).
3. Samuel was the first of the order of prophets.
There were prophets before his time, such as Moses and Deborah, but
he was the first of an organised prophetic office. With Samuel began
the prophetic order, the succession of prophets which continued
throughout the rest of the Old Testament. Hence, in a very real sense
he is ‘the first of the prophets’ (see Acts 3:24; 13:20; Heb 11:32).
Samuel also founded the schools of the prophets, centres in which
young men were taught what God had revealed, and also singing
accompanied by musical instruments (3:1,21, 10:5,10). These schools
were one of the ways Samuel sought to restore the moral and religious
life of the people.
4. Samuel oversaw the transition from Theocracy to Monarchy.
Samuel placed Israel’s first king on the throne and anointed David, the
greatest of all Israel’s kings. But more than that, he shaped the
constitutional monarchy. The government which Samuel wanted to
establish was that of kingly power in the hands of a layman, but acting
in obedience to the written law of God, and to His will as declared from
time to time by the living voice of prophecy which should appeal to the
king’s moral sense. Not till Samuel had trained David was there such a
Jewish king. Despite his private faults, David, unlike Saul, never
attempted to set himself above God’s law, or even to pervert it to his
own use. He kept strictly within the understood limits.
From Theocracy to Monarchy
1 Samuel is the book of the transition from the theocracy to the monarchy,
focusing on three remarkable men – Samuel, the last of the Judges, Saul, the
first of the Kings, and David, the greatest of the kings. At the beginning of 1
Samuel, Israel is a loose-knit organisation of tribes, with no central
leadership. By the end of 2 Samuel they have become a unified nation with
a centralised government and a powerful human king.
God had called Israel into a unique relationship with Himself - God Himself
was Israel’s invisible king (theocracy). Through disobedience the people had
brought punishment upon themselves from time to time. They then
attributed much of this trouble to the fact that they had no human and
visible king (monarchy), such as the surrounding nations had.
Saul- the first King
Saul is one of the most striking and tragic figures of the Old Testament.
He was the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a choice young
man in the prime of life when he became king, but although he began
so reassuringly, he declined disappointingly, and ended wretchedly.
Saul was a man rich in promising natural attributes - a physical giant
(9:2; 10:23), industrious and generous (11:13), honest and modest
(9:21; 10:22), dashing and courageous (11:6,11). However, Saul had no
deep-seated religious principle, no fear of God that influenced his life.
Consequently as trials and temptations hit, his heart became hard and
stony and he gave way to a spirit of rebellion, pride, envy, jealousy and
despair.
Good Points Degenerated Into
striking appearance, 9:2 pride, 18:8
initiative, 11:7 rebellion, 20:31
bravery, 13:3 recklessness, 14:24
patriotic Spirit-filling, 11:6 demon possession, 16:14

I. Chosen
The establishment of Saul as the first king was in three stages:
1. he was anointed at Ramah (9:1-10:16);
2. he was appointed at Mizpeh (10:17-27);
3. he was acclaimed at Gilgal (11).
Although he was anointed as Israel’s king, some doubted that he could
really lead Israel (10:27). But Saul’s credentials as king were firmly
established when he led Israel to a great military victory at Jabesh-
Gilead (11:1-15) After this Saul was generally recognised as king and
Samuel stepped down as the judge of Israel, turning civil authority over
to Saul and exhorting Israel to fear and obey the Lord (12:1-25).
II. Decline
Each of these chapters shows that Saul’s early
promise was not going to be fulfilled. This came as
a result of his willful disobedience. Deliberate,
disobedient choices based on his ignorance of God
and His Word as well as on the fact that he feared
men more than he feared God.
II. Decline
The three sins of which he was guilty were:
1. Impatience (ch 13) – he violated the priest’s role
and offered up a sacrifice himself. In doing this he
was unfaithful to the fundamental principle of the
theocratic kingdom – obedience to the revealed will
of God.
II. Decline
2. Wilfulness (ch 14) – he made two rash and foolish
vows. Firstly, that his soldiers should not eat that day
(v24) - they were then too weak to follow up their victory
(v30) and when they were allowed to eat, they sinned
and ate flesh with the blood still in it (v32). The second
vow was that anyone who ate died. Jonathan ate
unwittingly and came under the death sentence – he was
only rescued on the protest of the people (v27,25).
II. Decline
3. Rebellion (ch 15) – Saul had an explicit
command to utterly destroy the Amalekites but he
spared their king and the best live-stock. When
faced by Samuel, Saul tried to argue his case (15:20-
21) which Samuel scathingly ignored (15:22-23,28).
These were not just moral lapses which would later be corrected. Rather they
show a state of mind and heart which was to go from bad to worse right on to the
tragic end. As far as God was concerned Saul was finished as king. The Spirit left
him (16:14) and a new king, David, was chosen by God and anointed in private by
Samuel (16:1,13). The emphasis of 1 Samuel now shifts away from Saul and
toward David.
Having rebelled against God and been rejected, Saul gave way to the lowest side
of his character. The Good Spirit left him, and an evil spirit took possession of him
(16:14) - at the end he was without help or hope. Saul was plagued by baseless
suspicion, bitter jealousy, cruel vengeance and periodic madness. There was now
no Samuel to consult, no harp to soothe, no priest to advise, and no God to
answer his prayer. In despair he resorts to a witch who pronounces his doom
(28:15-19).
Saul was a man so near to being right, and yet becoming so wholly wrong.
Think Spot
Saul was granted to Israel as king in response to Israel’s sinful demand
for a king. Since this was contrary to God’s will, did Saul ever really
have a chance to ‘make good’ in God’s sight? Could he possibly have
succeeded under such circumstances? Was he not condemned by God
to failure even before he started as king? See 1 Samuel 12:12-25.
‘The only reason why any soul is ever rejected by God is
because that soul has first rejected God.
God takes the initiative in love (1 John 4:19).
Man takes the initiative in sin (1 Samuel 15:23).’
Lessons
1. Natural advantages in themselves are not guarantees of success.
Saul had a wealth of potential and made a notable start, but ended so
poorly. Natural talents and gifts cannot be relied on alone in order to
guarantee success.
2. The one vital condition for the true fulfilment of life, is obedience
to the will of God.
Saul was called to theocratic kingship – not absolute power but rather to be the
visible executor of the will of the invisible king, Jehovah. So it is with us. We are
not independent proprietors of our own being – we are God’s property and he has
made us kings and queens over our own personalities and their gifts and powers
and possibilities. But our rule is meant to be theocratic, not an independent, self-
directed monarchy. We are meant to rule for God, so that our lives and
personalities may fulfil His will and accomplish His purpose.
Lessons
3. To let ‘self’ get the upper hand in our life is to miss the best and
court the worst.
The Philistines were not Saul’s worst enemies, it was himself. The downward process of sin in
Saul’s life has been traced:
• Considering sin (1 Samuel 13:8);
• Yielding and disobeying (13:9-14);
• Habitual yielding (15:9-23);
• Rejected by God (15:23-35; 16:4);
• Self-abandoned (28:6-20);
• Willing to destroy another (18:9);
• Destroying himself (31:4-6).
In choosing to live for himself in preference to the will of God, Saul was ‘acting like a fool’
(26:21).
David- the Best King
The rejection of Saul was a cause of great grief to Samuel. He had
expected much from him, but was bitterly disappointed. When Saul
failed, Samuel was faithful in warning him, then in loneliness he
mourned over him (see for example 15:35). Finally God rebuked
Samuel and told him to go and anoint the new king (16:1).
David, Jesse’s son and the great-grandson of Ruth and Boaz, was born in
Bethlehem, the youngest of eight sons. When David was about fifteen
years old he was anointed by Samuel (16:11-13) - it would be about
fourteen years after this before he came to the throne. David was
about twenty-nine years old at the time of his coronation and as he
reigned for forty years, about seventy at the time of his death (1 Chron
29:26-28).
David- the Shepherd
This part of the story is briefly but graphically told in
only two incidents:
1. the selecting and anointing of David as king
(16);
2. David’s encounter with and defeat of Goliath
the Philistine.
In the first incident is God’s call to David, in the
second, David’s answer to God.
To Do:
There are four Psalms which reflect this period of
David’s life, whether or not they were written at this
time:
Psalms 8; 19; 23; 29.
• Read these Psalms and for each of them
consider what David learnt from this period of
preparation in his life.
David the Courtier
David’s defeat of Goliath brought him to Saul’s Court.
‘From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let
him return to his father’s house’ 18:2
During this period, which was probably short, jealousy
and fear drove Saul to hate David (18:7-11). On the other
hand, Jonathan and Michal, his children, came to love
David (18:1,20,28) as shown by Jonathan’s covenants
with him and Michal’s saving of him from death (19:11-
17).
David the Fugitive
The record of this period shows that David was not without
fault. There are four blots on an otherwise brilliant record:
1. he lied to Abimelech the priest at Nob, and so got from
him forbidden bread (21:1-6);
2. he pretended to Achish at Gath that he was mad (21:10-
15);
3. he indulged in polygamy (25:42,43 etc);
4. he lied to Achish about whom he had been fighting (27:8-
12).
David the Fugitive
However, against these failures, and all the more
remarkable given the customs of the times, he:
• saved the life of his enemy Saul (24; 26);
• cared for his father and mother (22:3,4);
• was considerate of the two hundred sick among
his followers (30:10, 22-25).
David the Fugitive
• was considerate of the two hundred sick among his
followers (30:10, 22-25).
Fourteen years from the anointing to the crowning of
David seems a long time, but great tasks demand much
training.
David the Fugitive
• was considerate of the two hundred sick among his
followers (30:10, 22-25).
Fourteen years from the anointing to the crowning of
David seems a long time, but great tasks demand much
training.

1 Samuel - Bible Histury 2

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1 Samuel - Bible Histury 2

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“Success in the ministry does not compensate the failure in the

striking appearance, 9:2 pride, 18:8

initiative, 11:7 rebellion, 20:31

bravery, 13:3 recklessness, 14:24

patriotic Spirit-filling, 11:6 demon possession, 16:14

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